Ireland 'least violent country in Europe'

Ireland is the least violent country in Europe, according to a new study by the World Health Organisation.

The research compared murder and assault rates across 27 European countries.

It found that Finland has 1.96 killings per 100,000 people, while the Scottish rate is 1.75.

In Ireland, the figure is 0.32, having dropped steadily over the last five years.

The findings are due to be published at a conference in Scotland tomorrow.